Lombardy is a land rich in fresh water.
The most evocative bodies of water of the Peninsula, Lake Maggiore, Lake Como and Lake Garda, lie a few dozen kilometers from Milano. It takes less than an hour by train or car from Milano to reach the lakes, longer if you bike there or take your bicycle on a regional train. In the summer they are a relaxing but also sporty alternative to seaside locations. Below you’ll find some destinations that we recommend you visit. The romantic atmosphere of the lakes will captivate you!
This is the region’s westernmost lake, straddling across Lombardy’s border with Piedmont and Switzerland, and offers some of the most suggestive visions: the splendid and mysterious Borromean Islands, the imposing Borromeo castle of Rocca d’Angera, and the fascinating Hermitage of Santa Caterina del Sasso. Lake Maggiore also offers several beaches equipped for bathing and swimming.
Part of Italian popular imagery due to the fact that Alessandro Manzoni, the Milanese founder of modern Italian literature, set the opening of Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed) in one of the lake’s two branches (the one in Lecco), Lake Como is indeed the perfect location for Hollywood-style weddings. In fact, the lake exudes Made in Italy elegance and fashion, in its ritzy hotels and exclusive promenades by the water.
Italy’s largest lake lies between Brescia, Trento and Verona. Since the 19th century, it has been part of the Grand Tour of bourgeois tourism and is especially popular with German-speaking tourists. It offers plenty of artsy and sporty opportunities: village and villas (like the Vittoriale) set between the water and the mountains; cycle paths with breathtaking landscapes; supercool dance clubs on the lake’s shores and quays. Never heard of Jamaica beach?
This is Lake Garda: exotic sporting paradise and kingdom of dancing nightlife, especially in the summer, but enchanting all year round.